Live Lunchtime Concerts Return To Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall’s live lunchtime concerts throughout June will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and streamed live on Wigmore Hall’s website.
Wigmore Hall will be broadcasting a new series of live lunchtime concerts at 1pm every weekday throughout June. Every concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds and streamed live on Wigmore Hall’s website. All concerts will then be available on demand for 30 days.
Featured artists include Imogen Cooper, Lucy Crowe, Iestyn Davies, Benjamin Grosvenor, Angela Hewitt, Stephen Hough, Michael Collins, Paul Lewis, Mark Padmore, Mitsuko Uchida and Roderick Williams. Pianist Stephen Hough will open the new series on 1 June with the Bach-Busoni ‘Chaconne’ and Schumann’s ‘Fantasie’.
The soloists and duos will perform in an empty Wigmore Hall and social distancing rules will be strictly adhered to. The series marks Wigmore Hall’s temporary re-opening and BBC Radio 3’s resumption of live concert broadcasting since the lockdown. The set-up will be minimal involving one BBC Radio 3 producer backstage, a BBC sound engineer, one presenter inside the auditorium and one member of Wigmore Hall staff on duty.
“I hope this project will also provide a glimmer of light for the entire industry”
Wigmore Hall’s artistic director John Gilhooly said, “We are very grateful to our wonderful colleagues at BBC Radio 3 for collaborating with us on this project, as well as the private donor whose magnificent lead gift has made the series possible, helping us to match the BBC’s contribution. Through these concerts we will bring great live music from our acclaimed acoustic to every corner of the nation and overseas. I hope this project will also provide a glimmer of light for the entire industry, administrators and musicians alike.”
“Live music is in the DNA of Radio 3”
Alan Davey, controller BBC Radio 3, added, “Live music is in the DNA of Radio 3 and so its loss is felt by all. It is therefore a great joy to restore this service to the nation while also ensuring maximum health and safety. My thanks to Wigmore Hall for once again collaborating with us on the venture and also to the performers for helping us to bring live classical music back into the nation’s homes during quarantine.”
For further details and programme click here.
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